Muck stripper for endless track treads



May .5, 1953 F. CARTLIDGA l 2,637,603

Mucx STRIPPER FOR ENDLEss TRACK TREADs Filed Dec. 7, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET l 32., 77 A Inval/for en/ kiff/afge E orney Milly 5, 1953 F. CARTLIDGE 2,637,603

'MUCK STR'IPPR FOR ENDLESS TRACK TREADS Filed D90. 7, 1951 2A SHEETS-SHEET 2 Il was l 36 l .Z'nvenfor Patented A. May 5, 1953 MUCK'S'TItIrPER F''PJENDISESS vvf-'IRA'CK TREADS t Frank Gartlid-ge; Chicago, Clll.l,.lass'gtlxor`A tol-Goodman- Manufacturing Company,:fChicago,fIl1.; `a corporation ot Illinois Application/December 7, 1QSISerialiNofZiIM a 1 SOIaims. 'lhis invention relates to improvements isin muck-strip ers for .endlesstrack..treadanpartiC- ularly' applioaoleffior use. in connectionwith drive sprockets foreach track. treads wheretthe inner side or the track passing around it,.as is thev case where the z-huo oi the-sprocket has to `he'enlarged to accommodatesgearreduction mechanism therein.

'Tlhecbject or thewinventioniis tonprovideia simple and 4etective torni oi stripper ring to! be interposed. between tnefhub oi Ia drive sprocket and the inner faces oi treadunits'as :they more the sprocket, the stripper ring 4hav-- lng materieller objects` oisubstantial sisefrom beine carried `around. the sprocketv during the operation'oi the' endless track tread.

The invention may'best beunderstoodby reierenoe to the accon'ipanying` drawings, in which:

Figure a vertical-section -taken'along the axisof thedrive .sprocketlof'anfendless tread vehicle showing-details of thef'vehicle;

-Figure 2 is a fragmentary section taken generally along line 2 2 of Figure l, with parts of the endless tread omitted;

Figure 3 is a detailvi'ew oi the stripper ring viewed from the top ofwthe assembly shown` in the preceding,y ngures and Yillustrating the manner in which the'st'ripper ring isrrestrained from rotation by a cross bar. rigid with the-vehicle frame.

Referring now to details of the embodiment f the invention illustratedin 'the"'drawing, the samei-isshown as applied'tothe drive sprocketr It rotatably mounted ona suitable cylindrical support i i 1 lforming part N ofi ,ani endless tread vehicle frame shown fragmentarily at I2. The sprocket it has a hollow hub I3 with a plurality of sprocket teeth I4, l arranged in two laterally spaced rows for driving engagement with aligned sprocket teeth sockets l5 iorming in upstanding end flanges it oi tread plates Il. The proximate ends of said upstanding flanges are connected by pivot pins Ila to form the endless tread track for the vehicle.

The illustrative form or drive sprocket it shown herein has an internal gear ring I8 intermediate its ends designed to be driven from a pinion I9 on a shaft ii@ extending into the sprocket hub on an asis eccentric to the drive sprocket axis. This form of internal gear drive is illustrative of several different types of gear reduction mechanisms which have heretofore been disposed within a drive sprocket for comf ri of the/,sprocket almost-thatof `:the

means thereon forpreven-ting foreign pactnless Jlfinfdeslgn of sii'clr machines. fWhen various `types f yof Agear reductions v are `disp`o"sed iniwholei orl 'in' parti within theltread sprocket I Ellas'E iin'- presentrcasegfit isidesirablelfto 'iash ioni -lits "hubi I 3 with al: relatively large-#diameter as compareddwithil the diameter of its driving teeth' lli.

Inithe form oiliinteinalflge'ar drivelillustrat'ed 'infthe drawing,- itWill--be observed ethatvthelin tern'alriin ear ISf'is.nsertedb'etween outwardly ,anged portions? 2 I f-f' 2 I ltformed; integrally :l with saidi'sprocketrhub and Sis .xediito 'saidl'anges by.. .oltstQ-ft"so2thatTthef'1rinff Searforms-1a part i oi thaliana t 'llheffrin'g' lgear: :I 3,'i'tog`ether with flanges. 2 I ,Tlf ZI iorm'4` a-projectinguannular collar 25-surrounding the` centrali-po'rtion-'oi said hub inf;l asiallyff-spaced:l relation: .trom the teeth fi il," i lllatopposite: ends otitheli hub.

"Referring now'fmorev particularly. toy theistripper v4'means*"which' forms the Vprincipal. feature of 'thev presentinvention,; ifprovide a. stripper ringl 2l which 'completely surroundsuthe central portion 1 ofthe` hubl I3 between thetwo` rows of sprocket teeth at opposite ends thereof. In thel form shown herein, ther stripper. ring'y also has an undercut: annularigroovef-ila to'accominodatezthe projecting annular colla-rl 25 formed by; .ther` gear' ring l! and? `flanges 2 I ,i il I i. as Spreviouslyzdescribed `The vstripperringiimay be madepp offtwol ihalf. portionszft andi et?, :split oniy a vertical;planel andi connected. to each other by bolts Erl passing through suitable laterally recessedlilangesrtn 35 :at Ithe-top .and bottom of the-ring.

'the s: strippen 'ring a :loosely z'mounted .fin bearing relation` 'about the; exterior euri-ace: oi l the sprocketA hubf'llioand .visheidfagainst rotation by suitable means, herein consisting of a radially projecting lug 36 formed integrally with the inner half 33 of the stripper ring and eX- tending,r intermediate the upper and lower reaches of the track tread, into engagement with a cross bar 38 xed at opposite ends to the side plates 39 of the main frame of the vehicle. In the form shown, the lug Se is preferably rec-- tangular in cross section and nts snugly in a recess 4t in cross bar 38 so as to aid in maintaining the stripper ring in concentric relation on the sprocket hub I3.

The inner half 33 of the stripper ring is also provided with a forwardly extending stripping nose 4I formed with widely diverging V-shaped surfaces 42, 42 inclined laterally and forwardly from a centrally disposed. rib 43 so as to simulate a plow-like conformation normally disposed in position to engage and divert any foreign material of substantial size which may accidentally lodge on the upper surface of the tread plates I1 as they approach the sprocket lil.

Each of the tread plates I1, l1 is cut away or recessed along surfaces 45 between the upstanding marginal flanges I6 at opposite ends of each plate, which engage the hub I3 when passing around the sprocket l0. These central cut-away portions form an elongated channel extending lengthwise of the endless track tread, which affords a working clearance for the stripper ring 21. In the form shown herein, the recessed surfaces 155 are deeper than the axes of the pivots lla so as to provide ample space for the stripper ring.

The use and operation of the stripping device is as follows:

The stripper ring 21 normally rides in bearing relation on the hub of the drive sprocket l and is held stationary by the lug 36 engaged with the cross bar 38 which is rigid with the main frame l2. The plow-shaped nose l of the stripper ring is thus maintained in close proximity to the upper surface of the tread plates Il as they approach the drive sprocket l] to pass around the latter during the op-eration of the vehicle. It will be understood that foreign objects, such as rocks, mud and debris, will often lodge on the upper surface of the treads as the vehicle is in operation and that it is highly undesirable to permit such foreign material to pass in any substantial amounts around the drive sprocket, where it may become squeezed between the sprocket hub and the plates and otherwise tend to interfere with the proper functioning of the sprocket.

With my novel form of stripping ring, any foreign material of substantial size will be brought into engagement with the plow-like nose lli so as to be stripped upwardly therefrom and be deected laterally in one direction or the other until eventually discharged between the bottom edge of the side plates S9 and the upper edges of the tread plates Il.

Although I have shown and described a certain embodiment of my invention, it will b-e undere stood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle frame having an endless tread track, a drive sprocket for said track comprising a generally cylindrical hub with sprocket teeth projecting therefrom, an endless track tread comprising a plurality of pivotally connected tread plates adapted to be trained about said drive sprocket for driving engagement by said sprocket teeth, a stripper ring disposed in bearing engagement about said sprocket hub and radially between the tread plates and said hub as they pass around the latter, means supporting said stripper ring relative to the vehicle frame to restrain rotation of said ring, and a plow-shaped nose carried by said ring normally positioned in proximity to the inner surfaces of the track plates as they approach said sprocket to strip foreign material from said tread plate surfaces.

2. A structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drive sprocket hub is provided with two rows of longitudinally spaced sprocket teeth near opposite ends thereof, and the stripper ring with its stripping nose is disposed axially between said rows of sprocket teeth.

3. A structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plow-shaped nose carried by the stripper ring includes diverging V-shaped surfaces inclined outwardly from a central rib for deflecting the material stripped from the tread surfaces toward opposite sides of the endless track tread.

4. A structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein the inner surfaces of the faces of the tread plates each has upstanding marginal flanges disposed in laterally spaced relation from each other toward opposite sides of the endless track tread to provide bearing engagement with the drive sprocket hub, and the inner faces of the tread plates are recessed between said marginal flanges to form a continuous channel extending longitudinally of the endless track tread, and wherein the plow-shaped nose carried by the stripping ring s adapted to extend in stripping position as the track plates approach the drive sprocket.

5. A structure in accordance with claim 4, wherein the channel formed along the inner faces of the several tread plates extend deeper than the axes of pivotal connection between adjacent tread plates.

FRANK CARTLIDGE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,294,200 Tritton Feb. 11, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 263,161 Great Britain Apr. 21, 1927 546,017 France Aug. 7, 1922 

